Options aplenty for Taser cop, gran's inquest told

First responders facing a great-grandmother with a knife had options to manage the situation without police tasering her, an inquest has been told.

Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White and his partner, acting sergeant Jessica Pank, were called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.

During a two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at 95-year-old Clare Nowland for a minute before saying, "Nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.

The 36-year-old fired as Mrs Nowland shuffled forward out of a treatment room in the facility's administration building, while holding her four-wheeled walker and a steak knife.

The barbs hit her chest, causing her to fall and hit her head.

She died of a brain bleed in hospital surrounded by family a week later.

A coronial inquest into the death concluded on Friday after Judge Teresa O'Sullivan heard there were numerous options available to contain the situation that did not involve firing a Taser.

NSW Paramedic Anna Hofner initially tried to gently coax Mrs Nowland into putting down the knife as she was sitting in the treatment room, to no avail.

She testified that if she knew White was going to fire his weapon, she would have warned him about the risk the elderly resident would injure herself falling after being shot.

"If I realised his intent was to deploy the Taser, I absolutely would have said something," she said.

Police and paramedics could have made use of a "pause point" to stop and discuss a plan before moving things further, the paramedic told Queanbeyan Coroner's Court.

Given Mrs Nowland moved slowly with her walker, there would have been time to back away and talk about next steps, she said.

Senior Constable Pank admitted there were a number of things that could have happened to de-escalate the situation.

"There wasn't any urgency was there?" asked counsel assisting Sophie Callan SC.

"Not in that moment, no," Sen Const Pank replied.

Having one person speaking to Mrs Nowland instead of three at once may have helped calm her down, the police officer acknowledged.

Dementia Training Australia executive director Isabelle Meyer separately told the inquest people with dementia did not respond well to direct orders, viewing that type of tone as a threat.

This would escalate the situation, she said.

Later evidence by geriatrician Susan Kurrle supported this.

"We have to be gentle, smiling, not being aggressive, not being threatening," the professor said.

Sen Const Pank conceded that as well as better communication, the door to the treatment room also could have been closed before Mrs Nowland stood up, leaving her inside.

However, this was impossible after Mrs Nowland went to exit the room, she said.

Having more information about who else was in the building could have been useful, Snr Const Pank said.

At the time, she said she incorrectly thought there were other residents inside who would be in danger if Mrs Nowland was allowed to roam free.

If she had been permitted to leave the treatment room and walk into the corridor, the two police officers could have approached her from both sides, the inquest was told.

Sen Const Pank said she did not consider locking the doors to the administration building as another way to manage the scenario.

Police weren't told Mrs Nowland's daughter Lesley Lloyd lived nearby and was available to come and talk to her, the inquest was told.

Family solicitor Sam Tierney asked geriatrician Joseph Ibrahim whether it was reasonable for staff at the centre not to take up an offer by Mrs Lloyd to come over.

Having a family member there could have made a very big difference, the professor said.

However, he said aged care facilities were mindful not to ask families to attend every time a resident became agitated or aggressive.

"It's never a black-and-white decision," he said.

The three-day inquest examined systemic issues before the Taser incident with a focus on dementia care and training for aged care staff, police and ambulance officers.

The court heard NSW Police officers had no dementia-specific training at the time of Mrs Nowland's death and that they may not have been taught the correct de-escalation techniques when dealing with someone afflicted by the disease.

In drawing the inquest to a close, Judge O'Sullivan said everyone involved in the proceedings had one goal, without exception.

"And that is to try and prevent this from happening to any other elderly person, any other person with dementia, and their family."

The judge will deliver her findings and recommendations later this year.

A Supreme Court jury found White guilty of manslaughter in November 2024.

He was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond in March 2025, a decision later upheld by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

The 36-year-old was removed from the force in December 2024.

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